In The Midst of Thunder
by StormOnTheHorizon
Summary: Ten/Rose AU-Scottish university student James McCrimmon pulls an all nighter in the lab, only to be brutally attacked by a very hostile alien. Rose Tyler and Torchwood come to the rescue, but it nearly results in the death of both Rose and James. The two draw closer and Rose begins to develop deeper feelings for her new best mate, “the Doctor”- the most recent addition to Torchwood
1. In the Midst of Thunder Chapter 1

**Authors Note: (SORRY ITS SO LONG!)** _ **I haven't really published anything in a while, but I have about 7k words on this story currently and I quite like the idea behind it, so I decided to publish it as a way to keep myself motivated. So if I don't post for a while, go ahead and shoot me a message and I'll probably continue it. It's not going to be terribly long- I'm aiming for 20k but we'll see if I can keep motivated.**_

 _ **Keep in mind, this does not occur in canon Doctor Who. It is a modern Torchwood AU which sort of incorporates all the aspects of Torchwood into a Doctor Who ship story, haha. I do love my Doctor/Rose fiction. Torchwood in this universe/The Rift is located in London, just so you know. Not Cardfiff/Wales.**_

 _ **There's probably tons of mistakes since I don't have, nor do I know how to acquire a beta. And some of it probably doesn't even make sense, it's just for plot purposes I suppose. Hope you guys don't mind. Also, feel free to correct any British terminology/slang that I use because I am very, very American and I'm sure it's quite obvious that I don't know like anything about the UK.**_

Tension hung thickly in the air, engulfing the Torchwood team with an iron grip. Rose kept her lithe form pressed against the building. She felt the rough, gritty texture of the bricks rubbing against her shoulder blades. It felt like sandpaper through her thin, skintight jacket. Her finger darted out to her earpiece, and she murmured, "Jack? Are you ready?"

A dreaded moment of silence passed. Jack was already inside the building, along with Gwen, hunting down a dangerous and wildly hostile alien threat, while she remained outside. The alien was nameless, but it did have a very notable appearance. She'd been shown a picture of the (rather unsettling) creature's head. Bony looking cheeks framed it's dark face, but the skin around it's eye and neck sagged like a mutant Shar-Pei dog. Rows and rows of sharp, pointed teeth lined its jaws, similar to a shark. Elongated limbs and quick, darting arms gave it a speed and reach advantage as well. On top of that, it was known to have extremely volatile, hostile behavior. To put it simply, it spelled bad news for the Torchwood team. Rose didn't like how risky it was for Jack and Gwen. She'd volunteered herself to tag along, but Jack had flat out refused. Something about her being 'too young to die.' Well, Gwen was only a few years older than her. Not only that, she had a husband. Jack had argued that she was the 'Vitex heiress' and he didn't want the press involved, but he knew exactly how she felt about using her social status to disallow her to assist them.

Cold seeped into her back from the chilly bricks. Rose had herself flattened against the side of a universities laboratory, a rather unusual hunting ground for a predatory alien. Given that it was nearly four am, there would be no students out and about, which gave her a small amount of relief.

A wistful sigh escaped her lips. Rose had been on a fast track to uni when an untimely encounter with an alien life form roped her into the Torchwood team. She'd met Jack, who had noticed her curiosity, resilience, and intelligence, and shortly after he had asked her to join. At that time she'd been desperate to make a difference and hadn't hesitated accepting. Soon after, she'd discovered that Torchwood was a branch of her father's very own company- and that he knew about it all along. That was three years ago, when she had just turned eighteen.

Rose braced herself for Jack's signal. It didn't come. Instead, she heard an agonized shriek, and the sound of glass shattering against a solid surface. Wasting no time, she sprang into action, dismissing any need for a signal as she raced to help whoever was inside. Presumably, it was Jack or Gwen, which sent her heart racing in her chest. She couldn't stand to lose her teammates. They'd been the only people she could talk to about the extraterrestrial, and they'd been her friends too. While she had other friends, like Martha, Amy, and Clara, the three of them remained blissfully unaware of the presence of aliens on planet Earth. Her breath ghosted out in white plumes as her heart rate increased and her breath quickened.

"Jack, I'm going in." She said into her earpiece. "I may need backup." Assuming that it wasn't Jack inside, that is. The audio rasped and crackled and the disjointed voice of Tosh responded,

"Rose-" A fuzzy noise buzzed through the earpiece and Tosh's voice cut off. Tosh was surely going to forbid her from entering by herself, but if she could possibly prevent someone from getting killed, there was no way in hell she was going to listen.

When Rose reached the door, she frantically jiggled the handle but, unsurprisingly, it didn't budge. She let out a frustrated hiss, trying to keep the panic from overwhelming her. Okay, breathe. This wasn't her first time doing this. She was Rose Tyler, and she could manage an alien threat by herself. Quickly, she regained her composure. It wasn't like her to lose her cool.

Giving the door an experimental kick, she realized it would be futile to try entering through it, so Rose looked around for another way in. As a high tech lab for the university, they had taken extra security precautions. Way more than necessary, it seemed. Cursing under her breath, the Torchwood agent whirled around, looking for an entrance. The screaming had gone silent. Oh shit.

She was too late. What if they were dead? Please don't be Jack or Gwen, she found herself quietly pleading. Instantly, she felt a pang of guilt at the very thought. Shame crept into her over her selfish thoughts. No. No one was going to die.

Windows. Rose surged back into action, skirting the perimeter of the lab, looking for a possible way in. There were no windows on the bottom floor that weren't barred off. _Blimey, was this school a prison or something?_ Looking up, she saw a set of windows one floor up. Her heart lurched at the thought. Was she really going to do this?

She already knew the answer. Someone's life was at stake, maybe one of her friends. Taking a running leap towards the wall and buried her fingers into a crook between the bricks. A pained howl echoed through the chilly night, coming from inside the lab. It didn't sound like Gwen or Jack, but the sound spurred her on regardless. The person was alive, at least for the time being. And Rose was hell-bent on keeping it that way. There was still a chance she could save a life tonight.

Rose's fingers curled around a niche in the bricks as she deftly vaulted herself up the side of the building. Her muscles shook with exertion but she couldn't stop, not when someone was in fatal danger. That's when she made the mistake of looking down. She was already at least fifteen feet in the air. The height instantly made her stomach drop and her heart stutter in terror. _Way to remind yourself of your fear of heights, Rose,_ she chastised herself, but pushed onwards.

She was gripping the window sill now. As quick as possible, she hauled herself up onto it, and took her gun - her tranquilizer gun - out of her holster, and rammed it into the glass. It shattered into a glittering display of glinting fragments. Shards blasted into the room and Rose swung herself in. Her thigh caught on a sliver of glass as she vaulted in, slicing a long, deep slicer into her leg. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins so she couldn't feel more than a shallow ache, nor could she realize the extent of the injury yet.

Squinting in the darkness, she noticed rows of neatly placed computers surrounded her. So it was a computer lab she had broken into, she mused. A veil of darkness blanketed the room, making it difficult for her to maneuver anywhere. She clicked on her torch and went to the door as quick as possible.

Locked. _Damnit!_ At least this time the door was a lot less sturdy. A solid kick, and it gave way. Rose pushed past it as she heard the sound of violent struggle. Something large and heavy crashed against the floor, making her cringe. The source of the noise was the same as before. _Oh god, what was going on?_ She hoped nobody was suffering.

There was a staircase to her right. Rose's feet were silent but quick as she descended to the first floor. Something shattered, giving her an idea of the location of the scuffle.

She burst into the room, watching as a tall, dark figure was hurled into a wall by something that looked vaguely like the picture she had been shown of the alien, but it was too dark to tell- the lights had all been broken. The person that had been thrown by the creature sagged against the wall with a pained moan.

She could see why the lab was so high security. There was countless numbers of ultra-expensive laboratory equipment in here, rows of chemicals and flasks. A few large machines Rose couldn't identify stood in the corners of the room. It vaguely reminded her of the lab at Torchwood, but their lab was still significantly different, maybe a bit more advanced even, if she did say so herself.

Rose raised the tranquilizer gun with no hesitation and fired a shot into the alien. It whirled around with an intensely annoyed, throaty growl. Eyes flashing, it snarled at her. With it's baggy, hairless skin, boney shoulders and pronounced cheeks, it was truly hideous, like some beast out of a horror movie, but was clearly the alien from the picture, now that she shined the torch on it's face. It's form was something like that of a bear, but more hunched over.

Sharp claws rasped against the floor as it lunged at her, jaws snapping. It's rows of wicked sharp teeth narrowly missed her throat, grazing against her shoulder. She barely noticed the crimson liquid spreading across her collarbone. Blood flowing from her shoulder and leg, Rose staggered back, trying to put distance between herself and the hostile alien as it thundered around the room, leaving devastation in it's wake. It had knocked over most of the tables already and splinters of glass covered most of the floor.

The person in the corner struggled to get to their feet. Rose realized it was a man, and a badly wounded one at that. Clutching his chest with his fingers, which were slick with blood, he stumbled forward. Rose was sure he was headed straight for the door. Instead, and to her completely and utter astonishment, he tried putting himself between her and the beastly alien. Time seemed to slow.

Rose shoved him out of the way as it rushed towards them. The man's lithe form keeled over as he fell to his knees. Growling ferociously, the alien barely breezed by him, forcefully colliding with Rose. It's curved, but rigid claws dug into her stomach, and she was absolutely certain she was taking her last breaths as it pushed her into the floor. Shards of glass dug into her spine as it forced the air out of her lungs, pressing its heavy, hairless paws against her chest.

The edges of her vision darkened as she gasped for air, but was unable to take any in. The huge, lumbering alien hovered over her, violet colored saliva and froth dripping from its jowls.

Twenty one years old, and she was going to be killed by a giant, hairless space bear. Figures.

Stars swam in her vision and she slipped from consciousness just as three shots rang out in the air.


	2. In the Midst of Thunder Chapter 2

Disoriented, James slowly came to, squinting at the glaring light above him. It seemed like the light of a million suns was assaulting his vision at once. Dazed, he rose slowly from his bed. For some reason, his muscles ached and a sharp pain reverberated through his ribcage. Vision swimming, he clasped his hand over his forehead as a pounding headache set in on top of that. He must have had a really long night in the lab, because he couldn't even remember coming home last night. Or why he was in so much pain.

Wait.

He wasn't at home. Something starting beeping off to his left. James glanced over. It was a heart rate monitor, and it was spiking at around 140 beats per minute. _Oh god's._ Something was attached to his arm (an IV?), and when he shifted he could feel a large cloth bandage wrapped around his torso. He was in the hospital? It didn't look much like a hospital though. It was a bleak octagonal room with a few various medical instruments around the edge, but for the most part it was eerily quiet. There wasn't another soul around. Shifting slightly, he frowned. The bed he was sitting on was extremely hard and unpleasant. Some hospital, he scoffed to himself.

Memories began to trickle back to him. James had been in the lab, and for a brief moment he thought he must have blown something up again. Everyone had told him that he'd end up in the hospital one day if he carried on, but he'd never listened. That wasn't it though, he realized. He had been extracting a sample, halfway to placing it on a microscope slide when he heard something tearing down the hallway of the university. The sound of crunching drywall instantly captured his attention. James being James, had to investigate. So he'd delicately set down his project and abandoned it to figure out the source of the ruckus.

As soon as he'd opened the door, some hideous dark grey creature had swung at him from the doorway and hissed, baring rows of teeth. Things were a bit fuzzy after that. It had scratched him up pretty badly, and tossed him around a bit. But then, when it seemed like his life was over, a girl- no, woman - had burst in. She bravely stared down the creature and a long dormant emotion bubbled up inside him. Admiration, and a multitude of other things he couldn't hope to name. All he knew what was that when provided the option to run, or to give her even a few more minutes, he chose the latter.

Then things went dark, and he woke up here. The beeping monitor grew louder as his concern for the woman emerged. _Was she okay? Was she going to die because of him? Or, god forbid, was she already dead?_

The door of the infirmary creaked open and a cold faced man appeared in a lab coat. He fixed his small eyes on James as if trying to figure him out.

"Calm down, will you?" He muttered irritability. James huffed. Not exactly the warm, caring doctor one expected while laying in a hospital bed.

"Is she okay?"

The impertinent man regarded him strangely. "Who?"

"The woman who saved my life." James glanced around impatiently.

"She's moving about and has nearly made a full recovery." Shrugging dismissively, he set something down on one of the tables nearby and pulled on a pair of gloves. Although he wasn't particularly friendly, the physician was gentle as he lifted James's shirt and began to unwrap the bandages around his midsection. He didn't know what to expect, but the wound was certainly more gruesome than he imagined and it began to throb more harshly. Four deep scratches marked his torso, and he watched as the other man as he disposed of the bloodied rags. James winced. He took note of the black and blue bruise that spread across the right side of his chest.

"Quit moving so much, you've cracked a rib."

"Sorry," mumbled James. What did he mean by, 'nearly made a full recovery'? She was hurt badly, likely worse than him, and he was still marred with scrapes and scratches. He was about to ask another question regarding the woman who had saved his life, but was interrupted as another person entered the room.

"How is he doing, Owen?" They asked. The physician, whose name was apparently Owen, glanced over.

"Surprisingly well, considering."

"You're American." James pointed out, looking at the man who had just arrived.

"Actually, I was born in Scotland like you. Moved to America when I was little, then moved back."

Suspiciously, James raised an eyebrow, "How do you know where I was born?"

"The accent, for starters." Chuckled the man. He extended a hand to James. "Captain Jack Harkness, and who are you?" Was it just James, or was that decidedly flirty?

"Erm, James-"

"Actually, I _do_ know who you are. You're that guy who's been in the news a lot lately. James McCrimmon, only twenty eight years old and you're already working on your third doctorate. Pretty impressive." He winked.

James flushed, tugging gently at one of his earlobes. "Er, yeah. That's me."

"How are you feeling love?" Jackie repeated, giving her daughter a thorough inspection. Rose leaned against the doorframe, heavily favoring one leg.

"'m fine mum, just as I've told you the last five times."

"You almost died." Jackie stated flatly, but her expression morphed back into concern. "You're not alright. There's no way you're going to the Vitex event tomorrow."

Rose rolled her eyes, shifting her weight off the doorframe in an attempt to prove her health. Pain jolted through her thigh but she managed not to wince. "See? It's been two weeks. I'm good." She felt the bandages covering the deep scratches around her torso tighten as she moved.

"Sweetie, I saw you limping around earlier. And I can see the cut on your shoulder. If you won't do this for me, do it for the press? They're gonna ask too many questions, I know they will." Jackie pleaded. She set her hands on Rose's shoulders, avoiding the scratches, then gave her a gentle hug.

Rose stubbornly chewed on her lip. "I won't wear a strapless dress or move around too much, yeah? They'll get more suspicious if I don't show up. This is the most important event of the year. I can't miss it. Also, Pete wants me to give a little speech on the company- it's gonna be on the news."

Although Rose's family was rich now, it wasn't always that way. When Rose was one, her father left her and Jackie and tore the family apart. Jackie was heartbroken and Rose had be to be raised without a father. A few years later, one of his get-rich-quick schemes finally worked and Pete became one of the richest people in all of Europe. Her parents got back together when she was nineteen, but things were never the same. She still felt some lingering resentment towards him for leaving them, despite all her efforts to connect with him and get over that. Hence the reason she still called him 'Pete' rather than Dad. She even had a little brother now, a two year year old named Tony.

Jackie shook her head, defeated, and blew out a sigh. "Clearly there's nothing I can do to stop you. Promise you'll take it easy on yourself?"

"I promise."

Just as their conversation wrapped up, Rose's mobile began to ring. She flipped it open and held it up to her ear.

"Hello?"

The distinctly American voice of Jack came through the phone, "Rosie, how are you?"

Rose grumbled something. People wouldn't stop asking her how she was doing. She'd been in much worse scrapes than this, so she didn't see what the big deal was. Just another rampant alien taken care off- it was her job. "Great." She responded, "What do you need?"

"James- our patient- is finally awake. He wants to speak to you." Jack responded, and Rose could hear the grin in his voice. She shot her mum an apologetic glance and bid Jack farewell.

"I've got to go stop by Torchwood." She told Jackie.

"What for?"

"There was somebody at the uni two weeks ago, where the alien was. I saved a man's life, but he's in the infirmary right now. Wants to talk to me."

Jackie nodded understandingly. "Blimey, you better see if he's alright." Rose gave her mum a grateful smile. "See you for dinner?"

"Yep." Rose affirmed.

She arrived at Torchwood shortly, entering slowly so as not to disturb her injuries. Rose waved to Tosh as she walked by, who was typing vigorously at some program on her computer, and approached the medical bay.

Jack welcomed her in as James beamed up at her. Despite the obviously unideal state he was in, he still looked quite attractive. His hair flew out wildly in all directions, and he wore an adorable grin. A pair of specs were perched on the bridge of his nose and he stared at Rose, admiration brimming in his dark brown eyes. Rose swallowed, trying not to pay too much attention to her observations.

"Nice to meet you under better circumstances." Rose greeted after a long moment of silence. She extended a hand to him, and he shook it.

"Thank you." He blurted. "I wouldn't be here without you." Rose blushed furiously at his praise, slightly taken aback by her strong instant reaction to his words. That, and she couldn't help but take notice of his smooth Scottish brogue.

 _Blimey, Rose. You meet a handsome bloke and instantly revert back to being a hormonal teenager. Honestly Rose, you face aliens on practically a daily basis and you can't even get your act together._ She reprimanded herself, trying to clear her thoughts.

Chuckling nervously, she said, "I just can't believe you were in the lab that late." James looked away a little self-consciously.

"Er- yeah. Was doing an experiment for my class and got a bit carried away." He tugged at his ear. Rose's interest piqued.

"What are you studying?"

James lit up at her interest in his education and gave her a gentle smile. "Chemistry at the moment."

"Wish I'd gone to uni. Was plannin' to, then ran into an alien." Rose chuckled darkly. "Life took me on the different path after that."

"Well, I'm glad it did or I wouldn't be alive."

"You look familiar." She suddenly realized, scrutinizing him. Rose bit her lip, staring intently at him.

"I was thinking the same thing." He commented, examining her similarly.

"Um...You've probably seen me on the Telly." She responded a tad uncomfortably.

"Oh?"

"Rose Tyler ring any bells?" She giggled. James's eyes flew open, and his voice rose to a squeak.

"Yep." His jaw hung open. "You're Pete Tyler's daughter? The _Vitex heiress_?"

"James has been on the news a couple of times too, you know." The American-accented man offered. "He's pretty famous amongst nerds." James blushed and Jack added, "He already has two doctorates."

Now it was time for Rose's eyes to widen. That really was _quite_ impressive. "Tell me then, _Doctor_ , what are they?" James tried to ignore the feeling he got in his chest as Rose called him Doctor.

"He's a man of the hard sciences," Jack chipped in again, before James told her,

"Astronomy and Physics."

Rose flashed a tongue in teeth smile that amplified James's reaction to her 'Doctor' comment. He'd been called Doctor before, of course. But never by someone who'd saved his life before. Never by Rose. So he pretended not be effected by it.

Jack smirked at them, and Rose detected something mischievous about the way he smiled. "I'm going to go help Gwen and leave you two kids to chat."

"See you, Jack." Rose called after him. The American sounding man slipped out of the room, discreetly winking at Rose, who rolled her eyes.

They were alone. James was running his fingers through his hair when she turned back to him, and she bit her lip.

Before she could think to anything to say, he asked, "So where are we then? This clearly isn't a normal hospital."

"I could tell you," she teased, "But I'd have to kill you."

The corner of his mouth curled up just slightly. "I canny believe that Rose Tyler is actually a secret double agent." His accent thickened a bit, she noticed.

"Well, not really an agent, per say. Though I suppose we call each other that sometimes." She paused, chewing on her lip again. James noticed this seemed to be a habit of her. A moment of silence passed. "You're probably wondering what that thing was."

James nodded.

"That was an alien."

The skinny man grinned suddenly. "Isn't that brilliant? I thought so!" He seemed brimming with excitement now, and attempted to stand up.

"Stop-" she told him gently, pushing him back onto the medical bed by the shoulders. "You need to rest."

"And you don't?" James pointed out, frowning.

"No, I don't." Rose snapped. James blinked at her, a little put out. She felt shame wash over her. "Sorry. I shouldn't have snapped. It's jus' that people have been telling me that I need to rest and that I'm not capable-"

"No one's saying you're not capable." He interjected. "Quite the opposite, in fact. You proved you were more than capable when you saved my life. We just want to make sure you're alright. You don't think _I'm_ incapable, do you? You just told me _I_ needed to rest."

Rose allowed a small smile to return to her face. She was extremely grateful that everyone cared enough to ask her, but she still didn't like the redundancy of the question. While she knew it was not true, the question always seemed to morph into 'You're not fit to do anything' and Rose Tyler would not be told what she can't do. Signing, she looked James.

"I understand. Sorry. I was being a hypocrite."

He gazed at her with the warmest brown eyes she had ever seen. But there was something else about them- something so deep and... scarred. Like there was the embers of a dying fire inside him. Warm but tired. She felt drawn to those eyes.

Rose didn't know what it was, because frankly it felt impossible, but she felt safe around him, despite barely knowing him. She knew it wasn't love at first sight or anything, she didn't really believe in that. But she knew she wanted something more with James. Be it friendship or... _more_ , she wasn't certain yet. However, she could tell there was something special about him. That they'd make a fantastic team. Maybe, just maybe, she could recruit him to Torchwood and perhaps convince Jack not to wipe his memories. He had potential and Rose really wanted to see it.

"Where did it come from?"

Rose was snapped out of her thoughts. Hazel eyes peered at him, "Sorry?"

"Ehm, the alien? Where did it come from?"

Always asking the right questions, he was. "There's a rift in time and space, it sits right on top of London. Occasionally an alien will pop out of it, and that's where we come in. Torchwood deals with the alien threats around London, and we take care of the ones that appear out of the rift."

James swallowed. "And do you always ' _take care_ ' of aliens in the same way you did yesterday?" He asked, eyes darkening.

Rose frowned. "Of course not. They're only killed if absolutely necessary... if someone's about to be killed. Jack wants me to carry a real gun but I refused. I told him it was tranquilizer or nothin'."

She could see the relief wash over him.

"Good." He sniffed.

"James?"

"Yes?"

"It wasn't yesterday. It was two weeks ago."

"Shit! My sister must be worried sick about me!" He exclaimed.

Rose stopped him from springing up. "Calm down, everything's already been taken care of. Donna has been given an explanation of your absence, so just relax."

James ran a hand through his silky brown hair. "Can I phone her soon?"

"Of course." Rose smiled. She watched the anxiety leave James and his shoulders sagged. He appeared to be thinking intentlyz

"But, how have you healed so much?" He observed out loud. "I'm still in a hospital bed and you're wondering about."

Rose cleared her throat awkwardly. "About a year ago, there was an accident and I absorbed some of the rift's energy. It nearly killed me, but when the energy was removed, it left a little bit of harmless residual energy that gave me slightly faster cell regeneration."

After that, the conversation switched from Torchwood and aliens to astronomy. Rose listening dutifully as he explained some complex information about the stars to her. She didn't understand half of it, but she loved listening to the excitement in his voice. And when he talked too fast, his brogue would thicken in a very endearing way.

They discussed all sorts of topics, from school to Barcelona and their longing to travel. James asked her ways to deal with the nosy press, and she gave him strategies to avoid being publicized in a negative way.

He told her where he got his first doctorate- a university in Edinburgh, and how he slowly made his way down to London.

"When I was younger I used to want to be an artist. Still draw sometimes, but I wanted to travel and paint the world, yeah?" She explained wistfully. "Not that I don't love helping people and saving the world at Torchwood. But I miss the serenity of art."

"What medium is your favorite?"

Rose regarded him thoughtfully. She loved the way he would engage in the conversation completely, never blowing her off. He was always open to her ideas and insights and never once spoke down her, despite the fact that she had never attended uni. And he cared about her interests, actively engaging in the conversation the whole time. Rose loved her mum, of course she did. But Jackie had never been particularly supportive of Rose's fanciful dreams to become an artist, especially when her father was still absent from their lives. She considered his question carefully. "I love working in oil paint and soft pastel. They feel fantastic to work with and I love to paint landscapes in them. And people, occasionally."

James looked very pleased at her response. "I dabbled in art a little, when I still went to college in Edinburgh."

"How did you like it?"

"I was rubbish!" He exclaimed and began to laugh. "Was always better with technology and science than art."

"I could teach you a little sometime if you'd like?" Rose offered, then her eyes widened as she realized what she had let slip.

"I think I'd love that." James replied softly.

Rose's mobile began to go off. "Blimey," she muttered, seeing the time. "It's already seven thirty, mum must be wondering where I am." She couldn't quite believe she had sat talking to James for five hours straight.

"Rose!" Jackie's panicked voice burst through the phone. "Where are you, sweetheart? Dinner was almost an hour ago! Did something happen? Are you okay?"

"Sorry mum," Rose cringed. "Everything's fine, just got a little carried away over here. I'll be home later tonight, yeah? Just got to take care of a few things."

"You missed dinner, so you'll have to pick up some yourself." Her mum informed her. Rose frowned.

"Okay, see you later tonight." She hung up.

"Missed dinner." She explained to James. "Mum began to worry."

"Ah... Sorry."

"What for? Not your fault." Rose grabbed her bag from the corner of the room, and began to pull on her coat. "Wait!" She realized. "You haven't eaten today, have you?"

"Erm... no." James admitted.

"Do you like fish and chips?"

James grinned.

"I'll be back in twenty." She promised.


End file.
